Creating Your Best Elevator Pitch!!

First and foremost, what exactly is an elevator pitch?

An elevator pitch is a brief, persuasive speech that you can use to spark interest in what you or your organization does. Some people might think that this kind of thing is only useful for salespeople who need to pitch their products and/or services. However, that’s not the case.

Creating an elevator pitch can take a lot of time. After all, convincing another person to listen to you is not an easy task. The good news is that a solid elevator pitch can help increase your chances for success.

May it be a busy investor or any other person, most people have a short attention span. That means you have to do a lot in a short amount of time. In addition, your elevator pitch should be relatively simple. Even the most complex or strange ideas should be broken down into easy-to-understand segments.

While you’re working on your elevator pitch, you need to understand your audience and think from their prospective. For example, if your audience is composed of investors, then your pitch needs to tell them that your idea will make money and show how it will make them money.

Of course, creating an extraordinary elevator pitch is not easy. That’s why proper planning and execution are crucial. Below are some steps to follow:

Schedule time to work on your pitch. Identify the time when you are most productive during the day.

Gather all of your ideas on one sheet of paper. Don’t worry about what you’re writing. Just relax and write.

Walk away from the pitch. Once the rough draft is complete, do anything else that interests you. For example, this could include walking, jogging, painting, or even taking a nap.

Get more creative. Once you return to your pitch, edit it and add creative elements where you feel they are warranted.

Practice, practice, practice. You must practice delivering your pitch until you feel confident about it. If possible, record your pitch and listen to it. This will give you a better idea of what changes need to be made.

Don’t forget that your audience is smart. They could have questions after listening to your pitch. Try to anticipate what questions they might ask and formulate your responses.

Jacqueline Hill is a partner at Lexacount Search, where she places top senior-level and other legal talent with law firms and corporate legal departments across the United States. She has been writing about careers, lawyers, attorney professional development, and the legal industry for more than a decade. She can be reached at jacqueline.hill@lexacount.com or 215-740-0104, extension 101.